Hip and Knee Replacement Wait Times: NHS, Canada, Australia

For most people, the hardest part of needing a new hip or knee is not the operation. It is the months of pain while waiting for it, often with a second wait hidden behind the first:

Here is what the official figures say about waits in the UK, Canada and Australia, how to read them, and what your options are if you cannot wait any longer.

How long is the wait for a hip replacement?

In public systems it is usually months, and for many people more than a year from first referral. The figures below are the latest official numbers we found, but each country measures something different. England counts how long people currently on the list have waited. Canada's CIHI counts how many people were treated within 26 weeks of being ready for surgery. Australia's AIHW counts the median time from being placed on the surgery list to admission. None of them includes the time spent waiting for a first specialist appointment in the same way.

In Australia, the median public wait for a total hip replacement was 130 days in 2024–25, down from 175 days in 2022–23 (AIHW). For a total knee it was 255 days, down from 308. So waits have eased in Australia, but half of patients still wait longer than these medians. Joint replacement is also slower than most surgery there: across all elective surgery the median wait was 45 days in 2024–25, and 6.0% of patients waited more than a year.

While you wait, it is worth going back to your GP or surgeon if your pain, walking or sleep get clearly worse, or if you start to fall. Your priority on a list can change when your condition changes, but only if the team knows about it. Keep a short diary of what you can and cannot do, since it makes those conversations easier.

How long is the wait for a knee replacement on the NHS?

There is no published national median for hip or knee surgery alone, but the orthopaedic figures are among the longest. At the end of June 2026, NHS England's trauma and orthopaedics list held 829,590 pathways, and only 60.9% of them had waited less than 18 weeks, against a standard of 92%. So nearly four in ten had already waited longer than 18 weeks. Across all specialties, the median wait was 11.9 weeks and 8% of people had waited longer than 38.3 weeks.

People on the list often describe much longer waits than the averages suggest, partly because the clock covers a whole department and partly because there is a wait to see the surgeon and another for the operation.

How long is the wait for hip and knee replacement in Canada?

Many Canadians wait more than six months. CIHI reports that in 2024, 68% of hip replacements and 61% of knee replacements were done within the 26-week benchmark, below 2019 levels of 75% and 70%, even though hospitals did 26% more hips and 21% more knees than in 2019. The Fraser Institute's 2025 survey of physicians put the median wait for orthopaedic surgery, from GP referral to treatment, at 48.6 weeks.

Private options in Canada are limited. CBC reported in 2023 that private clinics charge CAD 20,000–28,000 for one joint, and that some provinces, such as Alberta, do not allow residents to pay privately for an insured service at home, so people travel to another province or abroad.

How long should you wait before having a knee or hip replacement?

There is no fixed rule: the timing is a decision between you and your surgeon, usually based on how much the joint limits your daily life rather than on X-rays alone. Some people hold off for years and manage well; others feel they left it too long.

If you and your surgeon agree it is time, these are the realistic ways to shorten the wait.

Paying privately at home

In the UK, private packages for a knee were GBP 13,315–15,720 in the Leeds area (PHIN, January 2025), and hip packages are similar. In Canada, private clinics charge CAD 20,000–28,000 where they are allowed.

Taking out private insurance now

This rarely helps with a joint that is already causing trouble. In the UK, moratorium policies such as Aviva's exclude conditions you had in the five years before cover starts until you have gone two continuous years without symptoms, treatment or advice for them. In Australia, insurers can apply a 12-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions, and joint replacement is only a required category in Gold hospital cover.

Having surgery abroad

Going abroad, including to China, means you choose the date with the hospital rather than waiting for a list. We did not find official waiting-time statistics for joint replacement in China, so ask any hospital for a proposed surgery date in writing before you book. Plan for a longer trip than the hospital stay: UK hospitals advise waiting about 12 weeks before a long-haul flight after a hip or knee replacement, and your surgeon decides when you can fly. Keep your place on your home waiting list until you have a firm plan.